Conveying apparatus



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Feb. 25, 1941.

Fell 25, 1941- w. M. scHwElcKART Erm. 2,233,085

CONVEYING APPARATUS Original Filed Aug. 28, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3rwentor5 (Ittomeg ferring the coal from a substantial area to the in- 23. and held in place by :bolts 2| k5 1 the coal to a furnace. Pickup screw 23 is coupled at its other end to lo;

f2 han fun.

is to provide an effective, dependable and rugged mounted on the upper part of drive sleeve 33 and Patented Feb. 25, `149.41

" llumTrzo STATES PATENT oFFlce `4 .v CONVEYIZTSTARATUS v L" New York,` N. Y., a" corporation of Virginia Original application August28, 1937, Serial No. 161,494..v Divided and thisapplication February 23, 1938Qysl'i3l N0. 191,948

8 Claims. (Cl. 19E-64) This invention relates to improvements in apscrew 2| is coupled to pickup screw section 2 paratus for collecting and conveying coal and the appropriate manner, as by connecting shaft 2 I like, and is particularly directed to a system opfitting into the hollow ends of the preferably tuerable beneath an accumulation of coal for transbular shafts of feed screw 2| and letof a conveyor system. It .is part1cularly suit- Screw section 23 is constructed to feed at a stant and dependable supply of coaltoa conveyor screw 2|, as by employing a pickup screw `23 preferably o1' the worm or screw typawhichfeeds slightly more than half the pitch of screw 2|... In installations of this type. proper feeding of connecting shaft 24 pinned to sleeve 25, journaled the coal is highly important forfthe purpose of in bearing 26 in the base housing 21, carrying assuring proper burner operation, for economy in bevel gear `28 rotatably supported through ball driving the feed screws, and to avoid thejamming bearing 29 and pivot stud 30 on hub sleeve 3| 15 of the feed which has heretofore been a proline extending downwardly from the upper face of the 15' source of trouble in apparatusof this'type. ,A base housing 21. i v feature of f the present arrangement `involves Bevel gear 28 meshes with bevel gear 32 on verkeeping the coal feed tube to the burner substantical drive sleeve 33 journaled in Ahubv^3| and tially less than full of coal, and preferably about maintained by spacer rings 34'in spaced relationl ship to the vertical disc-supporting standard 35 20 l i A` purpose of the inventionis'to provide u nirotatably swiveled at 35' on the bottom of housform conditions ofkfeedto the main conveyor reing `21 which in turn `rests on the oor of the bin. 'gardless of the'd'epth of coal. A further object Avbevel gear 36 for driving the collector arm is arrangement that will provide auniform, steady meshes with the collector arm bevel gear 31 25 supply of `coal regardless of variablel conditions in mounted through ball vrace 38 and pivot stud 39 the coal pile and the presence of unusual @obon hub 40 extending upwardly from the bottom of structions such as tramp material in the coal. `A upper housing 4| rotatably mounted on the sleeve more specific object is to supply a'deviceifor col- 33. Hub 40 `is journaled on sleeve 33 through -lec'ting coal from a'substantial area that will avoid bushings 42, and bevel gear 31v is mounted on con- 3 the bridging of the coal and which is not subject necting sleeve 43 journaled in a suitable bearing to breakage when encountering foreign material. 44` xin the upper housing 4|. The coal collector Other objects and advantagesof the invention armi45 is carried by sleeve 43 and extends outwill appear from the following description conwardly into the coalstorage zone, being provided sidered in connection with vthe vaccompanying with suitable projections adapted to impel the 35 drawings, in which, i n

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the entire asthe collector arm is rotated by gear 31. 'I'he arm sembly;'

Fig. 2. is a plan view of the collector unit with carrying rsuitable helically positioned. coal-im.-

the the top shield removed; pelling elements 41. 40 Fig; 3 is a detail of a collector blade section; This outrigger screw has its impeller or paddle and sections 414 interrupted `seas to deliver a fixed Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal section on line amount of coa-l at each revolution until its dis- 4 4 of' Fig. 2 with the collector arm and imcharge end is restricted when the screwwill slip peller in alignment with the feed screw. without jamming. This is necessary in order to 45 The cda] collector unitis adapted to be mounted protect the space beneath the collector cover in a coal bin and `has a rotating collector larm against filling too deeply 'or packing'too tightly. differentially rotating and swinging to gather and The pickup flight of the feed arm 45 1s also interdraw `the coal to a feed pocket at the end of the rupted in order that it may pick at the wall of coal feed tube. The bin collector unit is driven coal against which it is working and not'smoothly 50 from the main coal feed screw 2| rotating in the slide thereon in normal operation. Another charcoal feed tube22 andhaving a suitable drive conacteristic of this interrupted screw is that it will nection witha vertical rotating drive sleeve 33 crush lumps and convey lumps without arching. carrying a planetary drive for the collector arm. `The collector screw is built up of `a series of In the form illustrated, the tubular endof feed paddle impeller sections 41 each comprising a tu- 55 bular hub 43 fitting shaft 45 and provided with opposed longitudinally spaced helically arranged collector paddles 43, as shown best in Fig. 3. The hubs 43 are provided with interlocks, such as tongues 50 and recesses 5I, and the terminal sections 41 are held in place by removable pins 52, facilitating the rearrangement and replacement of any of the paddle sections 41.

The shield 53 located above the collector unit supports the coal overlying the unit, being rotatably sustained by the standard 35 which transmits the weight of the coal to the base without imposing any load on the collector drive mechanism.

A coal pocket 54 the coal feed screw tween pocket plates 55 is provided at the end of 2| and may be formed beintegral with the base housing 21 and extending on either side of a pickf up screw section 23 to integral mounting collar 56 adjustably clamped to the end of the coal feed tube 22.

To impel coal to the coal pocket at the entrance of tube 22, operative regardless of the circumferential position of the collector arm 45, a blade 51 is mounted on sleeve 33 and rotates between housings 4l and 21 to stir and move to said pocket coal located beneath disc 53. This impeller blade 51 is mounted on collar 53 attached to drive sleeve 33.

This coal collector unit is adapted for location in a coal bin. It is designed to be covered to any depth with the coal, and will remove the coal completely from an inverted frusto-conical space whose is the path of the collector arm. While suitable walls and bottom may be provided in the bin around this space, the collector is adapted for use in an ordinary bin in which the space from which coal is not removed by the collector may be filled by a reserve supply of the fuel. The collector is likewise adapted for location either on the floor of the bin or in sunken position.

Disc 53 maintains the space beneath it largely free from coal, due to the proper dimensioning of the shield in relation to the normal angle of repose of the coal and its bridging tendency- It therefore provides uniform feed conditions regardiess of the quantity of coal that may be in the bin. 4

The collector arm drive imparts both. a revolving and a planetary impulse; but the employment of friction bearings 42, in conjunction with the ball bearings 33 assures the planetary movement and avoids any tendency for-the drive impulse to be exerted solely in revolving the collector arm about its axis. The arm consequently impels the coal inwardly under the disc 53, the paddles 43 tending to break up lumps of soft coal, to force out of their path particles of foreign matter, and preventing any tendency toward bridging or formation of a bridging or channeling. The rotatingl collector housing 4| is encouraged to advance by its frictional engagement with supporting hub 53 and sleeve 33 through spacers 42. The direction of planetary rotation of the collector arm 45 is properlyv correlated with the direction of revolution of the arm about itsaxissoastocausethetopofthearmto travel in the direction of the planetary rotation. It has been found that when this relationship is maintained, the action of paddles 45 assists materially :in obtaining proper planetary movement. 'Ihis result involves the use of interrupted ilights on the collector arm which produces a tractive effect that cooperates with the operation of the arm in the proper direction as indicated to cause the collector to dig ito the coal.

Therefore there will be a tendency in operation for the collector arm to have a slow planetary movement when entirely embedded in the coal; but the feed of the coal will be efficacious whether the arm remains in one position until all coal reaching that position by gravity is removed, or whether the arm continuously travels about the collector axis. If, however, a serious obstructionl is encountered the arm will remain in position and remove all coal which reaches it by gravity, thereby clearing a space which will be serviceable in dslodging the obstruction.

Coal impelled beneath disc 53 will tend to travel by gravity into the coal feed pocket 54; and when accumulated at a point circumferentially spaced from the pocket, its travel to the pocket will be assisted by the impeller blade 51, which not only serves to facilitate the flow of the coal by slicing under accumulations thereof, but which also exerts a certain impelling and conveying effect. The blade 51 nioving in a horizontal plane around the top of the base housing 21 will slide under the surrounding mass of material and move it in the direction of movement of the blade as the blade approaches the space above the pickup screw 23 so that some of the material collected in by the action of the collector screw will be moved toward the pickup screw by the impeller blade. The relatively long interval between successive passes of blade 51 prevents the accumulation above the blade of larger pieces of coal whose travel into pocket 54 may be im-t peded by a rotary conveying device having inadequate spaces above the pocket and blade 51 is likewise adapted to slice through wet coal to prevent packing thereof.

All of the screw parts picking up the coal from the bin and delivering it to the feed screw 2l are retained under tension in operation, preventing bucking of the sections and keeping all of the connections under tension. In the picking up of the coal the bin collector screw and its support have a tendency to advance into the coal due to the support of the rotating collecting housing by therotating hub 53 of the slicer plate 51 and also due to the reaction of' the helical blades ofV the collector itself. Apparently the blades in the lower part of their travel encounter greater resistance than during the upper half of their travel around the axis of the collector arm. This is probably due not only to the greater static head but also to the greater density of the lower layers of the coal and the tendency of the coal to pack below the collector arm, whereas the upper layers are free to lift and shift more readily under the action of the blades.

'l'he direction of rotation of this collector is such with relation to the normal tendency of the drive that the feeding reaction on the collector screw urges it forward in the direction of rotation of the vertical shaft 33 and the hub 53 and the upper housing 4l. Therefore, vthe c'ollector arm is urged into the coal by the frictional torque of the drive and also by the tendency of the collector blades to feed the arm forward in the same direction, these two forces being always additive and never opposing. 'l'hese combined forces exert a constant effort to feed the collector screw into the coal and at the same time the interrupted formation of the screw blades avoids any packing of the coal in arched formation around the collector. A collector screw with a continuous helical peripheryoften has a tendency to continuously and smoothly pack the comminuted material in the form of a cylindrical arc which forms a .bearing for the screw periphery and prevents the material from entering between the convolutions of the screw to be fed thereby. With the separate screw blades 49, the coal is thus picked up in sections and moved inward to the space beneath hood 53. The hood or collector cover 53 is independently supported by the shaft 35 resting on the floor of the base housing and transmitting the vertical Weight of the coal on the hood directly to these base parts.

This case is a d-ivision of application Serial No. 161,494 led August 28, 1937.

We claim:

1. Collecting and conveying apparatus for comminuted material comprising a conveyor tube adapted to extend into a bin or the like and having at its inner end' an open space of axial length greater than the radius of the tube, a conveyor screw extending through said tube and having its end in material-receiving position in said open space and adapted to move material from saidI space at a, predetermined rate, a housing at the inner end of said conveyor screw carrying a rotatable collector'arm, means in said housing for driving said collector arm from said feed screw, a shield above the inner end of said collector arm and overhanging the inner end of said collector screw and acting to prevent the material from lling in above said open space, and feed means carried| by said collector arm and operated by the rotation thereof to move material inward under said shield at a predetermined rate less than the rate of feedA of said conveyor screw, said shield andcollector arm and conveyor screw cooperating to automatically maintain said open space clear of excess material and to avoid jammingand packing of material under the shield.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which a blade device is mounted to rotate around a vertical axis and' to pass intermittently through the free space between the inner ends of the feed screw and collector arm so as to move material into said space and avoid arching oi' material under said shield.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which the inner end of the feed screw is formed to feed material at a slower rate than the portion of said feed screw within the conveyor tube so that the material in said tube is fed at a faster rate than the supply andonly partly lls saidtube.

4. Apparatus for collecting and conveying comminuted materialV comprising a conveyor screw and' tube adapted to be positioned at the bottom of the bin or screw, of a housing and independently rotatable with relation thereto so that torque applied to the shield may rotate the shield without rotating said h and said housing may be rotated without rotating the shield.

5. In apparatus for collecting and conveying material from a bin or the like having a floor or bottom, the combination with a conveyor tube and screw above said floor or bottom, of a vertical shaft member rotated by said screw, a housing rotatably mounted on said shaft and carrying a collector arm device journaled in said housing and extending outward above and spaced from said floor or bottom, a series of separate helically inclined blades on said arm adapted to feed material inward toward said housing upon rotation .of said arm around its axis, gear means in said housing comprising a driving gear on said shaft and a driven gear on said arm coacting to drive said collector arm from said vertical shaft member in a direction such that the tips of the collector arm blades at the upper portion of their rotation around the axis of the arm move through said material in the direction of rotation of said vertical shaft, said blades acting to cut into the material at separate points above said oor or bottom as the housing and arm pivot around the vertical axis of the housing and applying a force tending to urge the arm in the direction of rotation of said shaft.

6. Collecting and conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 5 in which the gear means between the vertical shaft member and the collector arm comprises an upper horizontal bevel gear on the vertical shaft and an intermeshing lower bevel 'gear on the collector arm.

7. Collecting and conveying apparatus for comminuted material comprising a conveyor tube adapted to extend into a bin or the like along the oor thereof and having at its inner end an open space for the reception of material from the bin, a conveyor screw in said tube and having its end in material-receiving position in said open space, a bracket fastened to said tube and resting on said floor of said bin and carrying at its inner end a housing provided with a tubular portion, a vertical shaft journaled in said tubular portion, a collar member on said shaft and rotatably resting on said housing, an upper housing journaled on said shaft and rotatably resting on said collar member so as to be spaced from said floor, a rotatable collector ported by said upper housing above said floor and adapted to gather material and feed it into said open space, and driving means between said conveyor screw and the collector arm rotating said arm, the weight of said arm and upper housing being transmitted through said collar member and said lower housing to the floor of the bin.

8. Collecting and conveying apparatus as set forth in claim 7 in which the collar member is fixed to the vertical shaft and carries a stirrer in the form of a blade lying natwise in a plane under the collector arm and over the open space for the reception of material from the bin.

WnmAMM. soHwEIcKARr. FRED G. JULY arm sup- 

